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Master of Health Administration degree program receives rare national accreditation

Submitted by: John Warner on Nov 22, 2007 at 5:40 am Tagged with: Academia, health services, Healthcare Source: UNC Charlotte

Only two other universities in North Carolina meet national standards

CHARLOTTE – November 21, 2007 – The Master of Health Administration degree program in UNC Charlotte's Department of Public Health Sciences has received initial three-year accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME).

UNC Charlotte joins only two other programs in the state – one at Duke University and one at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – and about 80 programs in the country that have been identified as meeting the "benchmark by which students and employers determine the integrity of healthcare management education and establishes the standard of measurement for the world community."

CAHME is an interdisciplinary group of educational, professional, clinical, and commercial organizations devoted to accountability and quality improvement in the education of healthcare management and administration professionals. Accreditation is a voluntary process, but reflects a partnership that demonstrates commitment to continuously improve graduate education.

The MHA program was established in 1995, and since 1998 over 175 students have graduated from the program. Almost all program graduates from the past three academic years hold jobs across a variety of health care settings. Program graduates are generally employed at middle level management positions as Directors or Managers; a few graduates have advanced to higher level executive positions.

The mission of the Master of Health Administration program is to prepare students to improve the public’s health by managing health care organizations. The program's philosophy of instruction is based upon an interdisciplinary approach that draws on the expertise of faculty from diverse disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Program courses are taught by fulltime faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences, the Belk College of Business and the College of Health and Human Services; and by a core of community partners with positions in applied health care settings.

For more information about the health administration degree program visit www.health.uncc.edu or contact Susan Rucker, interim director, at sgrucker@uncc.edu or (704) 687-8926.
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Media contact: Buffie Stephens, 704.687.2262, dbsteph1@uncc.edu